I’m not trying to start a fight or an argument or be an armchair critic. And it’s with a little bit of trepidation I post this because I’ve been doing such a good job of NOT posting anything controversial or stirring up hornets’ nests in a while on my Facebook page, but please hear me out.
I find it peculiar all the #boycottPaypal posts in my news feed the last week from many of my North Carolina friends using Facebook to do said protesting and boycotting. Not only that, but pointing out the hypocrisy that Paypal operates in other countries that persecute gays and transgenders.If that’s your point of view and you can’t in good conscience continue to use them for online finances, that’s fine and I respect your decision to do that, and yes I would agree with you that it appears inconsistent on Paypal’s part to “punish North Carolina”.
But…
You do realize that if you wanted to be consistent, you would also delete your Facebook account as well since that company, arguably much larger than Paypal, supports and promotes the same things? How many of you pay money to cable companies and go to the movies and pay into the salaries of movie stars and actors who basically turn around and use their influence to promote such stuff that you’re against?
Are you careful not to do business with stores, whether online or brick & mortar whose CEOS promote such things? Will you cancel your Amazon account when find out what Jeff Bezos stands for?
Are you going to get rid of your iPhone and Apple products when you find out what Tim Cook donates large amounts of money to? You won’t be able to switch to Microsoft, either, if you research and go down this same path. Don’t get me started on Disney/Marvel movies and theme parks, either.
The boycotting approach often times has mixed results, and often brings collateral damage, whether it’s a company is doing it or the consumer.
My point is simply that I personally don’t use boycotting as my main method of fighting or making a point, because it’s impossible to be consistent, and if I truly wanted to make sure I wasn’t supporting “evil” companies, I’d have to live on a farm and grow my own food, make my own clothing and be disconnected from the internet as well as any form of entertainment or communication. Then other such questions would arise, like how could I shine my light in the darkness and make an impact on this world if I stayed in isolation?
How far do we take our ideology in these matters?
Also, as a missionary who does freelance work, and who doesn’t have a US bank account, I’ve run into many obstacles trying to open one while physically outside the United States, and aside from a Payoneer Account, Paypal is the best solution I’ve been able to come up with for instant payment.
Anyway, thanks for hearing me out. I merely wanted to put some food for thought out there.
